China Set To Become More Dependent On Oil Imports

The pace of China’s oil imports growth is one of the most closely watched indicators in the industry—a gauge of the country’s huge appetite for oil and the impact it has on global oil trade and prices.

China is importing increasing volumes of oil not only because of demand growth, but also because its domestic oil production is declining as large ageing fields mature and as companies cut production from higher-cost fields amid the lower-for-longer oil prices. Thus, Chinese dependence on crude oil imports is continuously rising and is set to further grow in the foreseeable future.

Last year, China met 64.4 percent of its crude oil demand with imports, due to high production costs at home and favorable international prices resulting from the global glut. This was a 3.8-percent increase compared to 2015, and the level of dependency was set to increase further this year. Read More…